Apparatus for the destructive distillation of oil shale



Dec. l, 1953 APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION 0F OIL. SHALE Filed Dec. 4, 195o D. DALIN 2,661,327

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Dect 1, 19,53 D. DALIN APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTIVE nIsTILLATLoN 0F OIL. SHALE 5 sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1950 @BWM D. DALlN Dec. 1953 APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF OIL SHALE Filed Dec. 4, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Il 'Il Il 1 I.

Patented Dec. 1, 1953 `UNITED David alimfstenkullen,fRonningaSweden ..'ApplicationDecenber 4, 1950,2Se1ia1 No.71983993 ?8".Claims. l

This invention :rela-tes tothe destructive distillation of oil-shale and similar carbonaceous 'materials and has as itsjpurpose. tov improve* the lprocessing of suchmaterial with a"vieW..toWard speeding upthepprocess'and at 'the sametime increasingtheyild ofthe oil recovered.

With 'thejabove and other objects inview. which willappear as this description proceeds, the .present invention ,contemplates among other things preheating the. raw material priorto; 'feed- L ing it to .the coking or degassingretort, passing the distillanthgases"through the relatively cooler, Vthough preheated, material 4about to enter the retort as thesegasesnare Withdrawn .from the retort to thereby eifectcondensation of apart of thegases,;and`forcefeeding the uncondensed distillant gases .through a A'heater which is heatedby the combustionhgases. emanatingfrom the combustion zoneof the. apparatus, :and .then back. into the "degassing zone 'to thus elect a more positive flow. of'the'distillant'gases from the. materialzundergoing' treatn'ienty in the "retort iThe .accompanying "drawings .illustrate ^one "complete example" of 'the physical embodiment 'of "the invention `constructed according toithe best mode so far devisedK for' the practicalapplication of. the principlesthereoffandintwhichr Figureg l is avertical sectional-view through ^an-"apparatus embodying this-invention, said view4 showing the.vv material r"descending ..throu'gh Athe preheatingchamb er'orA zone to Abe transferred .into the top of the-retort,"from"the*bottom vof vvwhich `the .degassedgmaterial, after "being gdis- `Vcharged from the retort, is"conveyedupwardly forfeeding into the furnace K.shaft-or combustion zone,Vv said view being: taken-on thezplane ofthe "line I--l in Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a vertical-sectiona1sview.through :theapparatus onb a plane parallel tof that ofligure 1 but forwardly therefrom*asindicatediby the-line 2--2 in Figure -3,- said" View `being through 'one of the two. compartments [or: sections of the Iv"furnace shaft or combustion zone -anditsrrespec- L Figure 3 isaa vllvertical-sectional Vview* through :the=apparatustaken Aon4 therplane of the tline V3-.3 in Figure 2` which passes1through1the 1de- ..gassing or coking retortand ithetwo compart- Figure 5 .is fa horizontal crosszrsection'alfrview through Figure-13 ontheplane of the 1ine-5-15; ard

`Itigure 6 :is :a'Y-horizontal cross 'sectional View through Figure 3^ onthefplanef-of'theline 646.

5 The apparatus jReferringvnowrmore ,particularly 4 to the accompanying drawings in .which likenumeralsindicate' like4 parts, it will: vbe seen '..that' the appa 10 ratus V.generally comprises an upper-section U andv a lower` sectiorrL..connectedbut offset from .one another. "Thev lower sectioni'L consists of an upright retort 'l .and a`furnacehshaft18. The retort? is substantially rectangular in cross `section andis delrrieotfrom` the .combustion zone or furnace shaft by .oppositegside Walls-9 so that the interior of the' retort 'is'..ingheat exchange relation but not connectediwiththeinterior of -the combustion zone. Sincethe retortris, centrally located Withinithefurnace vshaft it, di-

vides this shaft into two similancompartments. '..The bottom Vof vthe retort is entirely closed except for .a discharge port I' through .which the degasse'd materialleaves'the retort, a screw Il ,-or other suitablematerial moving device be Ning, provided to Aadvance the Adegassed ,material toand through .the discharge port- Thenesassed material issuing 'from 'the ldischarge Kport is carried. upwardly .by a bucketconveyor |2or; the like and charged rinto a 'feed hopper nlalzaovewthe lower sectionL and .from Whicha .bifurcated jfeed Chute |41 leads' tothe tgp Aof ,thetwo ncompartments of the furnace shaft. vSuitable dampers I5 are'preferahly providedon .theidis- 4charge ends of the `feeduchute branches j i4 to prevent :the escape of combustion .rgases `from thetop of thegfurnace shaft.

'The columns .of degassed, residue icoke Vthus charged into the-top ofthe two compartments 40 of the furnace shaftl rest upon grates t6 of 4any suitable construction, and here-shoum..as comprising a plurality of "hollow Yported rollers through which the 'air 'for combustion .enters the bottom of f theJ furnace' shaft. "The ash acycumulates in-ashpits I-from which it is -re- --movedi I-in 1 any suitable 1 manner.

"The upper sectionl of Athe apparatus Yprovides -a-preheatingchamber or zoneiithrough which the raw material "to be treated descendspa feed chuteL i9, being provided in the top `of this chamzber to: .facilitate charging:the materialthereinto, '.andaasis customary awdampersil is arranged in `the-discharge; end of theffeed-fchutezto close the samerwherr.- material isenotflactually.'v entering the preheating.; chamber.

" '.:The .i preheatinggchamber.; isfdisposed between two flue gas passages 2 I which are connected with the upper portion of the furnace shaft compartments as at 22, and open to the upper portion of the preheating chamber as at Thus the combustion gases emanating from the two compartments of the furnace shaft flow upwardly along the opposite sides of the preheating chamn ber to supply heat to the material therein and finally enter the extreme upper portion of the preheating chamber from which they are exhausted to a flue gas duct 24 which leads to thesmoke stack (not shown).

Attention is directed to the fact that where the flue gas ducts join, the walls of the preheating chamber, which are necessary to .confine the material to be treated therein, consist of banks of closely spaced tubes 25 containing a fluid heat absorbing medium, preferably boiler fluid such as Water or a steam-water emulsion. These banks of tubes, as best shown in vFigure 2, are connected at their opposite ends to inlet and outlet headers 26 and 21 which in turn are connected in the circulatory system of a boiler plant or the like (not shown) from which the boiler fluid is derived.

The two banks of coils 25 define the upper portions of the sides of the preheating chamber being in line with and forming substantially continuations of the imperforate side walls 2S which extend down to the bottom of the preheating chamber and connect with the bottom wall thereof. The bottom wall, however, is perforated to enable the condensate resulting from condensation of the distillant gases in the lower portion of the preheating chamber in a manner to be hereinafter described, to now from the preheating chamber into a collecting trough 3Q.

While the side walls of the preheating chamber 'are imperforate at their lower portions, the end walls thereof are not, being defined by banks of coils 3i! and 32 similar to the banks of coils E. The bank of coils 3| separates the preheating chamber from the upper portion of the retort except for an inlet port 33 through which the preheated material is transferred from the preheating chamber into the retort by a reciprocating pusher 3d, driven by a fluid pressure motor 35 or the like.

As the pusher 34 is advanced it shoves the lowermost layer of preheated material through the inlet port 33 into the retort and in so doing scrapes across the perforations in the bottom wall 29 to keep them open.

The bank of coils 32 terminates short of the extreme bottom of the preheating chamber a distance sufficient to permit passage of the pusher 34 and separates the lower portion of the preheating chamber from a carrier gas collecting manifold 36.

The banks of coils or tubes 34 and are individually connected in a boiler fluid circulating system in any suitable manner; and as will be readily apparent the fluid circulating through these banks of coils will have a tempering effect upon the material between them, abstracting excess heat therefrom if the temperature is too high and supplying heat thereto if the temperature is below a predetermined value.

Another set of tubes or coils is arranged with.- in the two compartments of the furnace shaft or combustion chamber. This set of coils comprises a bank 3l along each wall of each compartment of the combustion chamber and a row of serpentine coils 38 extending lengthwise of the combustion chamber and substantially eduispaced from 4 the opposite side walls thereof so as to be imbedded in the body of the fuel being burnt. All of these coils are connected with a supply header or manifold 39 and with an exhaust or outlet header or manifold tt and the headers are in turn connected in any suitable manner with the circulating System of a steam boiler or the like so that boiler fluid flows through the coils. This flow is so controlled that sufficient heat is abstracted from the burning fuel and the material within the retort to preclude sintering thereof.

, This feature of the present invention, as well as the isolation of the retort from the combustion chamber and the feeding of the degassed residue coke discharged from the bottom of the retort into the top of the furnace shaft, are disclosed and claimed in the copending application of David Dalin and Tore Johannes Hedback, Serial No. 192,082, filed October 25, 1950.

The method The method of this invention, the practice of which is facilitated by the apparatus just described, comprises feeding the raw oil shale or other carbonaceous material to be treated into a preheating zone (provided by the chamber I8) to raise the temperature of the material and thereby speed up the degassing process. From the preheating zone, the material is transferred into the top of a Vertical retort or degassing zone (l in the illustrated apparatus) and because of its having been preheated the degassing or coking process which takes place in the retort is more rapid than otherwise.

While in the degassing or coking retort the material is, of course, heated to drive oi the distillant gases, but the heating is controlled by the abstraction of excess heat by means of a uid heat absorbing medium circulating over the walls of the retort and through but not in contact with the fuel bed, to preclude sintering.

The degassed material is discharged from the bottom of the retort (through port l0 in the disclosed apparatus) and conveyed upwardly to the top of a furnace shaft or combustion zone into lwhich it is charged and where it burns to provide the heat for the process.

The combustion gases rising from the burning fuel are conducted upwardly alongside and in heat exchange relation with the preheating zone to supply heat to the material therein and eventually are discharged to the smoke stack.

rhe distillant gases driven from the material undergoing treatment in the degassing zone are drawn off and passed through the much cooler material in the adjacent portion of the preheating Zone to thereby effect condensation or a substantial portion of these gases.

The liquid condensate is, of course, collected for subsequent refinement.

The uncondensed distillant gases which have been cooled to some extent by their passage through the material in the lower portion of the preheating Zone are then reheated by passage thereof in indirect heat-exchange relation with the flue gases flowing in the passages si. Upon being thus heated the distillant gases are force fed back into the degassing zone. While these method steps may be performed in any suitable manner, the apparatus shown is well adapted thereto. Thus each of the two flue gas passages 2i has a heat exchanger mounted therein. The inlet of each heat exchanger is connected with the carrier gas collecting manifold 3E and J its outlet is connected with the inlet of a blower t2. The uncondensed distillant gases, therefore, flow through the heat exchangers t! where they are heated, and then back to the degassing zone or retort through a louvered inlet i3 which extends across the full width of the retort in the lower portion thereof. By such forced circulating a more positive flow of the distillant gases is obtained and in general the processing of the material is speeded up.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that this invention provides a method and apparatus for the destructive distillation of oil shale and similar carbonaceous material which will reduce the time required for the complete process and at the same time assure a higher yield of extracted oil.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for the dry distillation of oil from oil bearing shale and similar carbonaceous material, comprising: an upright retort closed except for an inlet in the upper portion thereof through which the material to be degassed enters and an outlet at the bottom through which the degassed residue coke is discharged; means deiining a furnace shaft along side the retort but isolated therefrom; means for conveying degassed residue coke from the bottom of the retort into the top of the furnace shaft; means defining an upright preheating chamber having its lower portion laterally adjacent to and in open communication with the upper portion of the retort; a perforate wall separating the laterally adjacent portions of the preheating chamber and the retort, said wall having a feed opening therein adjacent to the bottom of the preheating chamber and through which preheated material may be fed from the bottom of the preheating chamber into the retort, and the perforate character of said wall allowing distillant gases to iiow from the retort into the preheating chamber; a sump under the preheating chamber; an apertured wall dening the bottom of the preheating chamber and dividing the same from the sump so that distillant gases condensed in the preheating chamber may collect in the sump; means for moving preheated material from the bottom of the preheating chamber into the retort through the feed opening in said perforate wall; and means for conducting the hot combustion gases from the furnace shaft in indirect heat exchange relation with the contents 0f the preheating chamber.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized by the provision of means defining a gas co1- lecting manifold adjacent to the lower portion of the preheating chamber; and a perforate wall separating the gas collecting manifold from the preheating chamber and defining a wall of the preheating chamber spaced from the peri'orate wall which separates the preheating chamber from the retort so that distillant gases from the retort must pass through a portion of the preheating chamber to reach the gas collecting manifold.

3. The. apparatus of claim 2 wherein said two perforate walls are banks of closely spaced coils; and means for circulating boiler fluid through said banks of coils.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized by the provision of: a heat exchanger positioned in the path of the hot combustion gases leaving the furnace shaft; duct means connecting the gas collecting manifold with the heat exchanger; duct means connecting the heat exchanger with the retort; and a gas circulating means connected in one of said duct means to effect positive fiow of uncondensed distiilant gases from the top of the retort, through the preheating chamber, the heat exchanger and back into the retort.

5. The apparatus of ciaim i further characterized by the provision of a gas inlet in the lower portion of the retort and with which said second named duct means connects so that the distillant gases enter the lower portion of the ret-ort.

6. The apparatus of claim l wherein the means for moving the preheated material from the preheating chamber into the retort comprises a pusher reciprocable across the apertured wall dening the bottom of the preheating chamber toward and from the feed opening in the perforate wall separating the preheating chamber from the retort; and power means for reciprocating the pusher.

'7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the furnace shaft comprises two compartments one on each side of the retort; and wherein the means for conducting the hot furnace gases from the shaft comprises a pair of flue gas passages each connected with one of said compartments at the upper portion of the furnace shaft, said flue gas passages extending along opposite sides of the preheating chamber.

8. Apparatus for the dry distillation of oil from oil bearing shale and similar carbonaceous material, comprising: an upright retort providing a degassing zone in which the material to be treated is heated to drive distillant gases therefrom, said retort having a side inlet adjacent to its top; means defining a combustion zone in juxtaposition to but isolated from the degassing Zone provided by the retort so that the combustion gases resulting from fuel burning in said combustion zone cannot commingle with the distillant gases driven from the material in the retort; means delining a feeding hopper directly alongside the upper portion of the retort, said feeding hopper having its discharge mouth in the lower portion thereof and adjacent to but communicated with the inlet of the retort; means for transferring the material from the hopper to the inlet of the retort; a drawoff duct connected with the upper portion of the feeding hopper for drawing distillant gases from the retort through the feeding hopper so that the distillant gases have direct contact with the material in the feeding hopper, whereby a fraction of said distillant gases is condensed by contact with the relatively colder material in the feeding hopper; and a sump beneath the feeding hopper in which the condensate accumulates.

DAVID DALIN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,618,566 Bergh Feb. 22, 1927 1,838,622 Herrich Dec. 29, 1931 2,396,036 Blanding Mar. 5, 1946 2,501,153 Berg Mar. 21, 1950 2,504,508 Edling Apr. 18, 1950 2,550,677 Dalin et al. May 1, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 839,892 France M June 27, 1930 

1. APPARATUS FOR THE DRY DISTILLATION OF OIL FROM OIL BEARING SHALE AND SIMILAR CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL, COMPRISING: AN UPRIGHT RETORT CLOSED EXCEPT FOR AN INLET IN THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF THROUGH WHICH THE MATERIAL TO BE DEGASSED ENTERS AND AN OUTLET AT THE BOTTOM THROUGH WHICH THE DEGASSED RESIDUE COKE IS DISCHARGED; MEANS DEFINING A FURNANCE SHAFT ALONG SIDE THE RETORT BUT ISOLATED THEREFROM; MEANS FOR CONVEYING DEGASSED RESIDUE COKE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE RETORT INTO THE TOP OF THE FURNACE SHAFT; MEANS DEFINING AN UPRIGHT PREHEATING CHAMBER HAVING ITS LOWER PORTION LATERALLY ADJACENT TO AND IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE UPPER PORTION OF THE RETORT; A PERFORATE WALL SEPARATING THE LATERALLY ADJACENT PORTIONS OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER AND THE RETORT, SAID WALL HAVING A FEED OPENING THEREIN ADJACENT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER AND THROUGH WHICH PREHEATED MATERIAL MAY BE FED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER INTO THE RETORT, AND THE PERFORATE CHARACTER OF SAID WALL ALLOWING DISTILLANT GASES TO FLOW FROM THE RETORT INTO THE PREHEATING CHAMBER; A SUMP UNDER THE PREHEATING CHAMBER; AN APERTURED WALL DEFINING THE BOTTOM OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER AND DIVIDING THE SAME FROM THE SUMP SO THAT DISTILLANT GASES CONDENSED IN THE PREHEATING CHAMBER MAY COLLECT IN THE SUMP; MEANS FOR MOVING PREHEATED MATERIAL FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER INTO THE RETORT THROUGH THE FEED OPENING IN SAID PERFORATE WALL; AND MEANS FOR CONDUCTING THE HOT COMBUSTION GASES FROM THE FURNACE SHAFT IN INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE RELATION WITH THE CONTENTS OF THE PREHEATING CHAMBER. 